Time for me to give a story... My boy has been a dedicated hunter and fisherman since he's been old enough to carry a rod or bow/gun. He never misses a hunt, scouting trip, begs to fish everyday, constantly reads and learns....... Now 14, his hunting career includes 4 doe and a 4 pointer, all rifle kills, a turkey and too many misses to even begin to write about. His bowhunting career started last year and he missed a small buck during the first week in November.. that one shot really lit the fire. Fast forward to this hunting season. He shot daily, scouted as much as possible, just really put forth a good effort for a young hunter..... We invested in new gear, arrows, clothes, etc. We constantly talked about hunting and all things involved in harvesting animals. Saturday morning, wake up to super windy conditions, but he had 4 doe come right past him at 10 yards. I could tell as he told me the story 20 times, he was exceptionally excited about having them close and all offering shots. We only buck hunt for archery, so I knew he wouldn't shoot one. Saturday night, windy again, but no deer showed up. Typical for us. We don't have good deer property to hunt and anything we see usually requires time and effort to get it done..... He seldom complains about lack of deer sightings, matter of fact, it bugs me more than it seems to bother him... Sunday we scouted. He went to check a stand he hunted last year, I went to check another spot above him. When we met up, he told me he saw 4 buck rubs and tons of acorns.. We checked a few other areas we hunt in that area, and went home to shoot. It was a long day for him sitting in school.. we got home, ate supper and by 3:45 were out the door. We get to the mountain, hike in for 25 minutes and finally climb up to our stands. He's about 200 yards from me. By 4:45 we are set up. At 6:00 I hear my phone buzz and wonder who's texting me... I quick glimpse I see its my boy.... We only text to make sure everything is OK and we are both settled in. His message is pretty clear.... "I just shot one". There is no hesitation, I instantly phone him. He tells me 2 doe, came by him and walked out the bench he was on. As they walked off, he heard another deer coming from above him and instantly saw it was a buck and it was coming right down the trail to him. He played it all perfectly and let the deer walk by. At 10 yards, he drew, anchored and let the string go. He said the deer kicked, and spun around and quickly walked about 25 yards, then it fell over...... I got to him in about 5 minutes, he stayed in his tree until I got there.. He climbed down, we found his arrow and saw blood right where he shot. We saw the blood trail and walked to where he said the deer was laying.. We didnt walk 20 yards and I already saw the white belly . His first bow buck. 115 pound, 6 point. Mathews Mission bow, @45 lb. 100 gr. VPA 3 blade head. It was an awesome night!!!

Big congrats! Awesome deal and so exciting to think about whats going on inside of him. Not just as a new, super stoked bowhunter but also just what he feels inside after killing his first buck with the bow. Has been 19 years to the day since i killed my first with the bow at age 15, and when i think of that time, i can still smell and feel the smells and feelings i felt then. Hell, when i hear the Britney Spears song "Hit me baby one more time", it takes me back to that buck because i was a sophomore in high school, and that was THE girl and THE song at the time....

Congratulations to you both. To dad for being the sort of father every son should have and for being an admirable role model. And to the son for harvesting his first bow buck,...that's an event to be remembered forever. Way to go fellows!!!

Thank you all for the kind and positive comments... My boy will surely get a kick out of reading all the replies. Deaver, to answer your question, personal choice I guess. My average year (6 week season) here I might see 20 deer, some years more, some less. Last year, I hunted 13 straight days before seeing my first deer. One year I hunted 21 days without a seeing a deer. It makes it pretty hard to maintain drive to get up and go.. LOL... I guess my thinking is shooting a doe takes maybe 2-3 away for next year. This is only my opinion of course, so take it for what its worth. Again all, Thanks! Greg

Again gentleman. Thanks. My boy must have told me 20 times today about how it all unfolded yesterday... I'd say he didn't learn to much at school today, reliving the hunt....

Deaver, Public land in a populated, heavily hunted area, any weapon depending on season. I was wrong. He pointed out to me it was 3 doe he killed. Pa has a mentor youth rifle season right in the middle of archery season. He killed a doe when he was 8, 9 and 11. My buddy owns 20 acres and half of it is a grass field. A few doe are usually in it throughout the season. I don't personally hunt there, but could, but he lets my boy hunt all he wants. To get him in to the hunting mode, I'd take a night or two off from bowhunting buck and take him there for doe. Pretty much a given to get him a shot. His buck was shot on that same property, a small 4 point that was probably scoped 20 times from 20 guys, but because we have a point restriction for adults, he made it through the season, until my boy got him. We hunted 7 of the 9 days of rifle that year, so it wasn't lack of effort.